Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Makeovers – Good Eats

November 12, 2012 separator Appetizers & Sides

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We all love the holidays for the time with family and friends, the nostalgia, and the food. But what’s the first thing everybody starts talking about as they’re downing another bite of some rich, decadent appetizer or dessert? New Year’s resolutions… Why not just skip the guilt and make everything a little bit healthier on the front-end, instead of planning to jog it off in two months? I’ve taken two delicious, comforting Thanksgiving side dishes and revamped them with a few healthy tweaks – lower fat, ditch the gravy, etc.

Oh, and do tell – what are your guilty pleasure recipes for Thanksgiving and the holidays?

Low-Fat Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes & Roast Acorn Squash
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Author: Shrimp Salad Circus
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • POTATO INGREDIENTS
  • 3-4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • .5 cup I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter! Spread
  • .5 cup fat-free Half & Half
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • .25 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped chives or green onions
  • SQUASH INGREDIENTS
  • 3 medIum acorn squashes, halved and seeded
  • 6 tablespoon I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter! Spread
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Dash of cinnamon
  • Dash of paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. POTATO INSTRUCTIONS
  2. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain.
  3. Mash potatoes with an electric mixer on until they’re smooth. I like the potatoes in this recipe to have a bit of texture, so I leave a handful out and add them back later so that they’re not totally mashed. Add the garlic as you’re mixing.
  4. Melt the I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter! spread and Half & Half in a small pot until they’re hot. Add the salt and pepper to this mixture.
  5. Add the spread and Half & Half mixture to the potatoes little at a time, stirring it in with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add more Half & Half if it’s too thick.
  6. Finally, stir the chives in. Top it with a sprinkling of extra chives to serve – no gravy needed!
  7. SQUASH INSTRUCTIONS
  8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  9. Slice squash in half carefully, and place them cut side down in a baking sheet. Add about .25 inch of water. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until the squash begins to soften.
  10. Take it out of the oven, and slice off a little bit of the bottom so that it can stand on that side without tipping. Flip it over, hole-side facing up. Pierce it all over the place with a fork. Drop about a tablespoon of spread, 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of paprika into the hole.
  11. Stick it back in the over, cut side up of course, for another ten minutes or so. Finally, crank the oven up to broil, and let it brown for a couple minutes. Watch it like a hawk, or it’ll burn!
  12. Put half a squash on each plate. You can eat it right out of the skin!
* Disclosure – thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own..

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  3. Pingback: 30+ Healthy Holiday Side Dishes Your Family Will Love

  4. That squash looks amazing! I don’t roast vegetables often enough. What perfect wintery comfort food.

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